MountainStrong Hurricane Recovery Fund

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, MountainTrue is dedicated to addressing the urgent needs of our community.

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Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator

Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator

Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator
Murphy, NC
Apply Now

Position Summary

The Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator position serves rural communities and provides programmatic, field, and fundraising support for MountainTrue’s Clean Water Program in far Southwestern NC and North GA. Based in MountainTrue’s Western Regional Office (WRO) in Murphy, NC, the WRO Watershed Outreach Coordinator will interact with community members and volunteers on several levels including recruiting, training, educating, and organizing for water quality monitoring and watershed health. The WRO Watershed Outreach Coordinator must understand the importance of attention to detail in science and provide good quality assurance and control in both field and lab practices. The WRO Watershed Outreach Coordinator must be comfortable working in both field and office settings, individually or with a team.

The MountainTrue Watershed Outreach Coordinator is:

Organized – enjoys managing a variety of projects & timelines, with self-directed systems and smooth execution of tasks needed to meet goals.

Analytical – capable of using scientific principles in data collection and analysis with a high level of attention to detail.

Engaging – adept at building relationships in-person or virtually and working with diverse people (e.g. youth, retirees, rural, urban, different cultural backgrounds, and people with varying levels of education or income).

Versatile – a problem-solver with the ability to make decisions in a changing environment and anticipate future program needs. 

Loves Southern Blue Ridge Mountain waterways and is hopeful about our future.

Key Responsibilities

Water Quality Monitoring & Data Management

  • Manage and expand volunteer water quality sampling programs, including Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Swim Guide, and microplastics
  • Manage data and review regularly to determine most impacted waterways; conduct further testing to determine pollution source; and work with the regional and/or program director to develop and implement a remediation strategy.
  • Recruit/train volunteers and promote sediment pollution reporting using the Muddy Water Watch website/app.
  • Review NPDES data in the region to ensure compliance and work with the regional and clean water directors to push for improvements, especially during the permit renewal process.
  • Manage the summer water quality intern

Education / Outreach / Engagement

  • Help publish the annual State of the River report/presentation for the western region
  • Plan and implement an annual volunteer appreciation event
  • Organize the Lake Chatuge Shoreline Cleanup
  • Lead efforts to promote improved water quality through education and recreation

Fundraising

  • Recruit sponsors for the Swim Guide program & Lake Chatuge Shoreline Cleanup
  • Help secure auction items and raffle prizes for the Watershed Gala
  • Assist with western region fundraising events
  • Research and assist in the development of grant applications

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

  • Completion of at least a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health/Science, Biology, Wildlife/Natural Resources Management, or a related field.
  • Valid driver’s license and dependable personal vehicle.
  • Excellent written and oral (including public speaking) communication skills. Must be willing to regularly use email as a primary communication tool.
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office and Google Suite programs and applications.
  • Available on some nights and weekends for events and outreach.
  • Committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice principles.

Location & Travel

This is a hybrid position with 1-3 days per week (depending on the season) required to be in the Western Regional Office in Murphy, NC. MountainTrue utilizes frequent virtual meetings and phone calls. This position requires fairly extensive daytime travel within southwestern NC and north GA with occasional longer day trips to other MountainTrue regions; travel costs are covered by the organization.

Compensation

This is a full-time 40 hr/week position starting at $48,000. Benefits package includes 20 vacation days per year; 12 holidays; sick, parental, and bereavement leave; sabbatical after five years; health insurance; simple IRA with employer contribution of up to 3%.

 

How to apply

*No longer accepting applications – application deadline has passed*

Email a cover letter, resume, and three references to jobs@mountaintrue.org. The subject line should read: “WRO Watershed Outreach Coordinator.” The cover letter should address your relevant skills/abilities and work experience and answer the following questions:

  • Why do you want to be MountainTrue’s western region watershed outreach coordinator?
  • What is your favorite waterway and why is it important to you?
  • What familiarity do you have with living and/or working in rural communities?

The deadline for applications is April 24, 2025. The projected start date is July 7, 2025.

2025 Holman Water Quality Award Winner: Johnny Strawn

2025 Holman Water Quality Award Winner: Johnny Strawn

2025 Holman Water Quality Award Winner: Johnny Strawn

Johnny Strawn of the Hanging Dog Community of Cherokee County, NC, is the 2025 recipient of the Holman Water Quality Stewardship Award.

Originally from Morgantown, WV, Johnny Strawn attended NC State University in Raleigh, NC, where he met his wife, Pam. After graduating with degrees in conservation and wildlife biology, Johnny began working for what was then the USDA Soil Conservation Service during which time Johnny and Pam moved to Cherokee County, NC. He served as District Conservationist in Cherokee and Clay counties for nine years and they fell in love with the area. So in 1982, instead of moving on with USDA, he and Pam opened Hanging Dog Valley Nursery, a wholesale nursery specializing in native plants.  

Johnny is a founder of Murphy River Walk & Canoe Trails, serving as the project manager for eight years. He received the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year award in 2013 for his volunteer work on the River Walk.

Johnny has served on the board of directors for the John C. Campbell Folk School, the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference, and the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition (now MountainTrue). He also served on the board of the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and Mainspring Conservation Trust for 13 years. As the first Hiwassee watershed board member of the land trust, Johnny was very instrumental in the expansion of land conservation efforts beyond the Little Tennessee River corridor in Macon County.

During his time on the land trust board, Johnny and Pam began to better understand the value of conservation easements; in 2024, they put the finishing touches on a 150-acre conservation easement on their own property, a combination of seven separate tracts which over decades they melded into one cohesive piece of land.

Upon being notified that he’d been selected to receive this award and expressing gratitude for the honor, Johnny was quick to acknowledge Pam’s role in all of the accomplishments we are attributing to him. “None of this happens without Pam,” he said. 

Each year, we present the Holman Water Quality Stewardship Award to the person or group who has done the most to sustain good water quality in rivers, lakes, and streams in the upper Hiwassee River watershed of Towns and Union counties in North Georgia and Cherokee and Clay counties in North Carolina. The award is named for Bill Holman, a lifelong conservation advocate currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Conservation Fund in NC. The Holman Award is sculpted by David Goldhagen of Goldhagen Blown Art Glass, whose studio is located on the shores of Lake Chatuge near Hayesville, NC.

MountainTrue E-News: January Good News Roundup

MountainTrue E-News: January Good News Roundup

MountainTrue E-News: January Good News Roundup

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The horrific fires in Los Angeles are an exclamation point to the climate change impacts we’ve experienced here in Western North Carolina. Coast to coast in just over three months, we’ve seen the effects of new weather patterns bringing torrential rains and historically dry and windy weather. This is not your grandparents’ planet. 

At MountainTrue, our prayers and thoughts are manifested in putting boots on the ground to help our communities recover. Daily, we have crews out cleaning up trash and debris choking our rivers. We’re mobilizing skilled planners to assist local communities build back better. We’re advocating for improved local floodplain ordinances to protect lives and businesses from being lost in the future. We’re pressing the US Forest Service to incorporate planning and management practices that better reflect our changing climate. 

The silver lining of Helene is that we’ve experienced communities coming together in the face of massive obstacles to help one another regardless of our differences. Tapping into this collective reservoir of goodwill, caring about each other and our environment, and taking action is our work in 2025.

Together, we can do this. Together, we are MountainStrong!

Bob Wagner

Executive Director

Contribute to the MountainStrong Recovery & Resilience Fund

Take Action

Boone Mayor Pro Tem Dalton George (left) with Watauga Riverkeeper Andy Hill (center) and High Country Watershed Outreach Coordinator Hannah Woodburn (right).

 

Protect Hellbenders

With encouragement and support from the Watauga Riverkeeper, the Town of Boone recently passed a resolution supporting Endangered Species Act Protection for the Eastern Hellbender. Read about it here. And while you’re at it, submit your comment to support listing the Eastern Hellbender as a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act. Remember to make your comment your own – unique comments carry more weight with agency staff. Comments are due February 11, 2025.

 

Report Hurricane Debris

  • Report river debris + debris locations throughout the French Broad Watershed in the French Broad & Swannanoa rivers on our debris survey. Additionally, if you’re a landowner with river frontage and are willing to let MountainTrue access the waterway from your property, please reach out to cleanup@mountaintrue.org. 
  • Report river debris + debris locations throughout the Watauga, New, & Elk river watersheds on our debris survey.

Facts & Figures: Post-Helene Cleanups

MountainTrue River Cleanup Coordinator Jon Stamper (center) with volunteers at the MountainTrue x United By Blue cleanup on January 18.

 

With the help of 463 volunteers, the French Broad Riverkeeper team has: 

🤝Hosted over 17 river cleanups

🗑️Removed over 1484 contractor bags’ worth of trash from the French Broad

👏Collected ~98,280 pounds of trash

Shout out to our awesome French Broad Riverkeeper cleanup partners: United by Blue, who provided a generous donation and helped coordinate a cleanup on the French Broad on January 18; and students from the Disaster Management and Response program at Paul Smith College for helping on multiple cleanup days. 

_________________

With the help of 168 volunteers, the Watauga Riverkeeper team has: 

🤝Hosted 10 river cleanups

🗑️Removed 311 contractor bags’ worth of trash from High Country rivers and streams

👏Collected ~30,590 pounds of trash

Shout out to our awesome Watauga Riverkeeper cleanup partners: Wine to Water, Deer Valley Athletic Club, Girls on the Run, and The Speckled Trout Outfitters.

_________________

With the help of 50 volunteers at the most recent cleanup on the Green River last month, the Green Riverkeeper pulled two mattresses out of the river, along with housing materials including metal roofing, propane tanks, tables, chairs, building materials, unfortunately destroyed artwork, and more. 

The total amount of debris the Green Riverkeeper + volunteers have pulled out since Helene is unknown, but it consisted of over seven cars, five or six campers, several trailers, literal houses, and everything you can think of that belongs in those houses. 

Shout out to our awesome Green Riverkeeper cleanup partners: The Polk County Community Foundation, who awarded funding from two grants for cleanup efforts along the Green and Pacolet rivers; and Green Race Conservation Project and H20 Dreams, both of whom made generous donations for cleanup efforts.

Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator

Organizing Director

Organizing Director
Waynesville, Sylva, or Franklin, NC
Apply Now

Position Summary

The Organizing Director will lead and manage MountainTrue’s grassroots organizing efforts across our programs, focusing on training staff and organizers in the skills necessary to build authentic relationships, empower our communities, and develop local leaders to drive community-led solutions.

This position requires both management and on-the-ground organizing experience. The organizing director will directly supervise the Creation Care Alliance Organizer and Resilient Forests Organizer and work with other program staff to build the capacity of staff, volunteers, and community partners to identify and achieve policy, advocacy, and programmatic goals. 

This role is instrumental in developing and executing strategies to grow our network of members, supporters, and volunteers, empower communities, strengthen coalitions, and advance the organization’s mission of championing resilient forests, clean waters, and healthy communities in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Strategy

  • Develop and implement a comprehensive organizing strategy to support the organization’s goals, and recruit, train, and retain a diverse and engaged base of volunteers and activists.
  • Provide leadership, training, and guidance to organizers, program staff, volunteers, and supporters engaged in organizing campaigns and initiatives.
  • Align organizing efforts with the organization’s strategic plan, policy priorities, and equity goals.
  • Supervise and mentor organizing staff, providing ongoing professional development opportunities.
  • Develop resources and training materials to build the organizing capacity of staff, volunteers, and allies.
  • Work with organizing staff to cultivate authentic relationships with community members, partner organizations, and stakeholders to identify community priorities and help strategize and win community-led solutions.
  • Work with organizers to identify activists with leadership potential and mentor them through one-on-one meetings between organizers and activists.
  • Works on evenings and weekends as necessary, with the option to take time off during the regular work week as compensation. 

Data and Evaluation

  • Track and analyze metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of organizing campaigns.
  • Ensure accurate and timely reporting of organizing activities and outcomes.
  • Utilize digital tools and databases to manage and grow the organization’s activist base.

Communications and Advocacy

  • Collaborate with the communications team to develop messaging and materials for organizing campaigns.
  • Engage directly with policymakers, stakeholders, and the media to advocate for the organization’s goals.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

  • Lived experience in grassroots community organizing.
  • Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships across diverse communities.
  • Experience supervising organizing staff and volunteers, and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Knowledge of public policy processes and key issues related to protecting clean waters, resilient forests, and healthy communities.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Proficiency with organizing tools, such as CRMs (e.g., EveryAction, VAN), email platforms, and social media.
  • Commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice principles.

Preferred Skills and Experience

  • Bilingual or multilingual abilities.
  • Experience with digital organizing and data-driven campaign strategies.
  • Familiarity with Western North Carolina and the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains.

Location & Travel

This position is based in Western North Carolina, with a preference for Asheville, North Carolina. This position utilizes frequent Zoom meetings and phone calls. Travel costs are covered by the organization.

Compensation

The salary is in the mid-$60s. The benefits package includes 20 vacation days per year, 12 holidays, sick leave, a sabbatical after five years, health insurance, and a simple IRA with an employer contribution of up to 3%. 

How to apply

No longer accepting applications.
Email a cover letter, resume, and three references to jobs@mountaintrue.org.  The subject line should read: “Organizing Director”.  The cover letter should answer the following questions and address your work history, organizing skills, and management experience:

  • What does grassroots organizing mean to you and how does it differ from other forms of top-down advocacy?
  • Describe a grassroots organizing success and the role you played. 
  • What do you believe is the role of an organizing director in managing a team of organizers?

Take Action: Oppose Weakening Macon County’s Watershed & Flood Protection Ordinances

Take Action: Oppose Weakening Macon County’s Watershed & Flood Protection Ordinances

Take Action: Oppose Weakening Macon County’s Watershed & Flood Protection Ordinances

This action has expired

Let Macon County Commissioners know that you oppose weakening Macon County’s Watershed Protection and Flood Damage Prevention ordinances by allowing higher density for recreational vehicle parks in public water supply watersheds and removing restrictions on the use of fill dirt to elevate new houses or expand development in high-risk flood areas.

Commissioners may vote on changes to one or both of these ordinances at their upcoming meeting set for Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Commission Boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse, located at 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC, 28734.

Take Action Now

Eighteen years ago, to better protect public safety and the environment in a region with steep mountain slopes and a higher risk of flooding, Macon County adopted an ordinance that is stricter than the state’s minimum standards. A natural floodplain allows water to spread out during a flood event, soak into the soil, and reduce a river’s speed and destructive power. 

Now, Macon County Commissioners are considering weakening the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to allow property owners to use fill material in these areas — decreasing safety and increasing public and private losses due to flooding, including potential loss of life. Using fill dirt to build homes and other buildings in flood-prone areas reduces the amount of floodplain area we have to mitigate flooding. Allowing this activity without requiring a permit puts more people at risk of floods by encouraging more homebuilding and development in floodplains. It also adds to development pressure on large agricultural properties currently in the floodplain, leading to an increase in loss of farmland. 

Using fill dirt and materials in the floodplain will also increase costs for residents and taxpayers by raising insurance premiums and creating the need for the government to update floodplain maps more often. The increased risk to life and property from accelerated flooding will also demand costly county resources and put county emergency personnel and volunteer rescuers at risk.

Eleven years ago, county commissioners amended Macon County’s Watershed Protection Ordinance to make Recreational Vehicle (RV) parks ineligible for Special Nonresidential Intensity Allocations. Similarly to the changes to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, allowing increased density for RV parks would encourage their development in public drinking water supply watersheds. Most of the large tracts of land in these watersheds are currently in floodplains and in agricultural production.

Former county leaders recognized that because of Macon County’s steep slopes, narrow floodplains, and fast-flowing streams, the standard state ordinance wasn’t good enough and adopted stronger water supply watershed protections and floodplain restrictions that have served the county well for more than a decade. Tell our current leaders to maintain this legacy for Macon County’s future.

Hurricane Helene Recovery Update – December 18, 2024

Hurricane Helene Recovery Update – December 18, 2024

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I recently saw my neighbor Jim down at the creek a couple of miles from our homes collecting and piling up trash. When asked, he said he was doing it because it needed to be done.

December ushers in the longest nights of the year in reality and metaphorically. The darkness reflects many of our neighbors’ struggles with losses to their homes, wages, and places they love. Helene reminded us just how vulnerable we are to nature’s wrath and the impacts of climate change.

This may be why some traditions choose to celebrate this time with light. A  Christmas tree illuminates our living room every evening. The eight days of Hanukkah will begin soon. Kwanzaa candles will be lit. December is also when daylight starts to last a little longer.

We are entering a phase in the recovery when we are no longer in the national news, the urgency and inflow of help slows, and we acknowledge this is our new normal. It won’t be easy. Even our state legislature has chosen politics over supporting the people of WNC by holding up recovery funds. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. 

As my grandfather used to say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Well, friends, this is our time. We need each other more than ever to succeed. Western North Carolinians are resilient. We’ve lost a lot, but we will rebuild again. MountainTrue and our army of volunteers and staff will be there every step of the way. 

I am grateful for my neighbor Jim. Like you, he embodies a can-do spirit. And though we are still mourning our losses, we can look to better days ahead with hope and confidence. 

Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Bob Wagner

Executive Director

Contribute to the MountainStrong Recovery & Resilience Fund

Get Involved: Take Action

MountainTrue has four active action alerts: check them out below and sign on to make your voice heard. 

✅Take action to protect Hellbenders!

✅Help us remove debris from our rivers after Hurricane Helene

✅Protect the Nolichucky River: Urge CSX to rebuild responsibly without damaging public lands

✅Support an eviction moratorium & boost housing aid for Helene survivors

Clean Waters Team

Public Safety Announcements

⚠️ Read our Volunteer Safety Guidelines blog – always wear your PPE when participating in a cleanup or if you know you’ll come in contact with mud/sediment leftover from Helene. 

 

Well Water Testing Updates

💧The Watauga Riverkeeper continues to offer free well testing. Where to get a bacteria sampling kit through the end of December: (after December we are switching to appointment only)

✔️Johnson County, TN: Tennessee/NC State Line Resource Center (11878 US-421, Trade, TN) from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. on TUESDAYS, and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on SATURDAYS through December 28. State Line is in desperate need of volunteers, if you’re interested in volunteering at State Line Resource Center visit their website and/or sign up for volunteer shifts here.

✔️If you’re interested in getting your well or spring tested for E. coli bacteria, you can also email emma@mountaintrue.org or call 828-446-5086 for an appointment, supplies, and/or water quality info.

 

Soil and Water Pollution Testing Updates

🔬 The Watauga Riverkeeper team is excited to further their sampling efforts in the New Year by tracking down sources of E. coli contamination. This will help our team understand sources of pollution, stop them, and advocate for better protections for our headwater streams. 

Come see us at the Boone’s Winter Farmers Market on January 18, 2025, @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and February 1, 2025, @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm to pick up a bacteria testing kit for your well or spring, or learn more about other testing options! We’ll be doing livestaking demonstrations and teaching about erosion and stream sedimentation. We’ll also be offering pay-as-you-can native trees; teaching about the different species, and sending you home with a bundle of trees to plant yourself! If you’re interested in helping us identify places in need of stream bank repair for future volunteer workdays please answer a few quick questions HERE. 

 

River Cleanups Update

🗑️ MountainTrue’s French Broad, Green, and Watauga Riverkeepers will continue to host cleanups in the coming weeks; look for cleanup info + updates in these weekly emails and on our Instagram and Facebook accounts: MountainTrue Instagram, Facebook + Twitter, French Broad Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook, Green Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook, Watauga Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook. 

🗑 Upcoming river cleanup: 

✔️ Madison County, NC:

🔹12/19, Marshall: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.  Learn more + register.

✔️ High Country, NC:

🔹Save the date: 1/25, Lansing, Big Horse Creek with New River Conservancy and Keep Ashe Beautiful: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

🔹Save the date: 4/12, Creston, North Fork New River, with New River Conservancy: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

🗑️ The Watauga Riverkeeper is planning to host regular river cleanup volunteer opportunities in the New Year. While we’ve removed nearly 35,000 lbs of debris with volunteers over the past few months, there is still much work to be done. We’re grateful to each and every one of our volunteers who make these workdays such a success. We had a great turnout at our last river cleanup at Old Cove Creek School at the County Park, and we anticipate more opportunities to help with recovery in the future. If you know of areas that are in need of cleaning, please fill out our debris reporting form HERE.

Thank you to our partners, The Speckled Trout Outfitters and The Build For Good Foundation, for lending a hand and making cleanups a breeze! If you’re interested in sponsoring a future cleanup or donating gear like waders, boots, or gloves, please contact hannah@mountaintrue.org.

 

Other River Updates: High Country

✔️ As the Watauga Riverkeeper team prepares for their winter livestaking season, they’re collecting information to determine viable planting areas in the watershed. Please fill out our Livestaking Bank Stabilization Survey.

✔️ The Watauga Riverkeeper is still collecting data on large debris too difficult to remove by hand (including but not limited to propane tanks, cars, fridges, bridges, etc); fill out the form here. We’ll be using this info to help SDR and FEMA crews prioritize areas for clean-up in the coming weeks and months. 

Healthy Communities Team

Temporary Housing Solutions Offered Across WNC

Whether you’re looking for short-term housing due to impacts from Helene or you have a home available to offer to families in need of housing, both the Asheville Buncombe Community Land Trust and the NC STR Alliance would like to work with you. They’ve both created programs to match those who need shelter with available homes. Learn about the ABCLT matching program here. Learn about the NC STR Alliance program here. Want to talk to someone directly about these programs? Contact Susan Bean at susan@mountaintrue.org.

 

Design Volunteers Needed!

MountainTrue is excited to announce the launch of a community-driven design program aimed at helping rebuild areas in Western North Carolina that were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Currently, our Recovery and Resilience Design Teams are focused on providing assistance to the Swannanoa and Marshall communities. Ultimately, we hope to provide the critical design services to communities throughout Western North Carolina.

To make this initiative a success, we need volunteers from a variety of design disciplines, including:

     ✔️Architects

     ✔️Engineers (structural and civil)

     ✔️Landscape Architects

     ✔️Environmental Consultants

     ✔️Land Planners

     ✔️Surveyors

     ✔️Soil Scientists

Many communities are still in rescue and recovery mode, and they may not yet fully understand their design needs. Banking design hours now is crucial for meeting future commitments to these communities.

If you’re a designer interested in volunteering and ready to pledge some hours, or if your community needs design assistance, please reach out to our Director of Healthy Communities, Chris Joyell, at chris@mountaintrue.org. Together, we can make a meaningful impact in the recovery process.

 

FEMA Application Deadline Extended to Jan. 7, 2025

To complete your application…

✔️ In-Person: Visit your local Disaster Recovery Center (DRC Locator: https://egateway.fema.gov/ESF6/DRCLocator)

✔️ Online: DisasterAssistance.gov available 24/7.

✔️ Phone: 800-621-3362, available daily 7:00am-11:00pm, multilingual.